The Influence of Missionary Margaret E.Barber on Watchman Nee

When Watchman Nee was still in school, he was in regular contact with Margaret E. Barber as he sought the Lord. She was an Anglican missionary who was sent to Fujian, China at the end of the last century. Other missionaries, jealous of her, fabricated serious charges against her and she was called back to China. She had a living knowledge of the Lord, a deep experience of the cross, and had been practicing the lessons of the cross, so she made it a point not to speak up for herself against the accusations of others. She stayed at home in England for several years, and reached a point where the chairman of the board of directors of the mission realized that the accusations had been fabricated, and asked her to state the truth. He said he knew that she was seeking to learn the lesson of the cross and was reluctant to defend herself, but in his position of authority over her, he ordered her to tell the truth. So she told the whole story. After she had made a full confession before the board, they decided to send her back to China. However, she felt that the time had come for her to resign from the mission, but she was still burdened to go back to China for the Lord's sake.

Prior to this, she had come into contact with D.M. Panton, a remarkable Bible scholar who recognized the evils of denominationalism. As a result of his contact with him, he became clear about the Sanhedrin.

After much prayer, she felt that the Lord Himself would send her back to China. So she returned to China, but this time without any association with any mission. From a human point of view, her return to China at the beginning of this century was self-sufficient. She took up residence on the outskirts of Fuzhou, Watchman Nee's hometown. She lived there and seldom went out on a mission, nor did she have any publicity. She simply stayed at home, prayed much for the Lord's move in China, and helped those who came to her for guidance as they sought the Lord. She was undoubtedly the seed the Lord planted in China for His restoration. She wrote a number of poems, many of which have been compiled and included in our hymn book. These poems show the depth of experience in Christ.

She lived by grace and faith; she had no outside support. According to the Chinese rule, all accounts must be paid at the end of the year. At the end of one year, she realized that she was 120 dollars short of what she needed to pay her bills; two days before the New Year, she prayed urgently to the Lord about this need. On the last day of that year, a telegram arrived from London through the Bank of England in Fuzhou, sending the exact amount of one hundred and twenty dollars.

Through his contact with Barber, Watchman Nee was greatly edified and made whole. Whenever he had a problem or needed spiritual guidance and strengthening, he always went to her. She treated him as a young learner and was often very strict in her discipline.

At that time, there were more than 60 young brothers and sisters who received help from Barber. She was very deep in the Lord and extremely strict, often rebuking these young people in many things. Soon afterward, most of these young people stopped seeing her, except for Watchman Nee. Whenever he went to see the priest, she always rebuked him. She often pointed out that young people should not serve the Lord in this way or that way. But the more she rebuked, the more Watchman Nee went back to be rebuked. By intentionally sending himself to be rebuked by her, he received inexhaustible help.

On February 7, 1950, when Watchman Nee was in fellowship with the Hong Kong Assembly, he said, “At that time there were sixty-six young men being trained under Sister Woo Yung. In his first letter to me, Bro. Poon Tong said that it would be good if six of these young men could stay after another ten years. Now, after such a long time, only four remain.”

And Barber was very much in the presence of the Lord. One day Watchman Nee went to see her, and when she was not able to receive him for a moment, Watchman Nee waited for her in the parlor. He said that he had felt the Lord's presence deeply, even though Clergyman Wo was not there yet.

She waited for the Lord's return every day. One New Year's Eve, she and Watchman Nee were walking together, and near the corner, she said, “Maybe we will meet Him when we turn the corner.” She waited eagerly for the Lord's return.

When Watchman Nee visited Europe in 1933, he said that in all his travels he had met almost no one in the Western world who could compare with and Barber. Through this sister, Watchman Nee received the foundation of spiritual life. He often told people that he was saved and edified through a sister.

and by Barber went to the Lord in 1930. In her will she gave everything to Watchman Nee. This was very little except an old Bible with many valuable notes. He wanted to write a biography of her, but time did not permit.

Concerning the passing away of Reverend Wo, Watchman Nee, in his public letter in the Revival of March 1930, said the following: “We felt most sorry to hear of the passing away of Reverend Wo, who was a deep believer in the Lord, at White Tooth Pool in Luoxingta, Fujian Province! She was a deep person in the Lord. Her fellowship with the Lord and her faithfulness to the Lord were, in my opinion, rare in the world.”

Watchman Nee was always placed under one of his co-workers, Zai Wang. Wang Zai was five years older than him and had always disagreed with him, which caused him much suffering. When they came to the missionaries to seek a solution to their problems, the missionaries always put him down, saying that Wang Zai was older than him. On one occasion, when a baptism was ordained, they had a difficulty as to who was to administer the baptism. Watchman Nee asked Rabbi Wo about this, and she replied that it should be Zai Wang who should do the baptizing. Watchman Nee asked why, and she said, “Because he is older than you.” There was another brother with them, Tanyu Wu, who was older than Wang Zai. Watchman Nee thought that by mentioning Brother Wu, he could defeat Wang Jae, so he suggested to Reverend Wo that “Brother Wu is older than Wang Jae, so he should be the one to baptize.” But she still said that Wang Zai should be the one to baptize. She did not give in at all, so that she could tell him to learn the lesson of the cross, to learn not to give reasons, but to obey.

Margaret Emma Barber or M. E. Barber (1866–1930; Chinese: 和受恩; Pinyin: Hé Shòuēn; Foochow Romanized: Huò Sêu-ŏng), was a British missionary in China. She was born in 1866 in Peasenhall, Suffolk, England, the daughter of Louis (a wheelwright) and Martha (née Gibbs) Barber. The family moved to 59 St Martin's Lane, Norwich around 1876 and established a carriage-manufacturing business. The family home in Norwich was opposite St Martin's parish church which was intensely evangelical in the 1880 - 90s and must have had an influence on the Barber family. During the course of her life, she lived in China twice to preach the Christian gospel. She left her home and travelled in a lonely way thousands of miles. Barber, who initially went to China as an Anglican, became an independent missionary with informal ties to the Plymouth Brethren. She is best known for her influence on Watchman Nee (Nee Tuo-Sheng).

Along the south China coast (in Fuzhou), she and others regularly taught a Bible class at "White Teeth Rock". There she had contact with Nee who was studying at the Anglican Trinity College. Barber referred him to books by J. N. Darby, Madam Jeanne Guyon, Jessie Penn-Lewis, D. M. Panton, T. Austin Sparks, and of others, which had been of help to her. She also influenced others Chinese Christian leaders, including Leland Wang who later formed the Chinese Foreign Missionary Union.

Miss Barber was an Anglican missionary sent by the Church Missionary Society (C.M.S.) to the city of Fuzhou, Fujian, China where she taught in the Tau Su Girls’ High School (a school founded and operated by the Church of England) for seven years. Known as an excellent missionary, her co-missionaries became jealous of her and fabricated a serious charge which caused her to be recalled from the field. Barber was known for her faith. For this reason, Barber decided not to vindicate herself concerning the charges made against her. She remained at home in Great Britain until years later the chairman of the mission board became aware of the case against her and that it was misrepresented. Persuading her to tell the truth, Barber told him the whole story and was fully vindicated before the mission board.

While she remained in England, Barber came into contact with D.M. Panton, the editor of the Christian magazine, The Dawn. Panton was both a student of the word and one who began to see that denominationalism was evil in the sight of God. During 1907 Miss Barber became a member of Surrey Chapel, Norwich and was also baptized at Surrey Chapel by full immersion. Through her relationship with Panton, Barber also began to see the denominations as evil in the sight of God.

Before the board could send her back to China, Barber resigned from the mission, considering that it was the right time to do so, even though she felt led by God to return to China. She returned to China in 1909 along with Miss Ballord another congregant member of Surrey Chapel not in connection with any mission, settling in a suburb of Fuzhou, with the spiritual support of Panton and the Surrey Chapel Mission Band, Norwich, where Panton ministered. The two women rented a house in Pagoda Anchorage where Barber lived until her death in 1930. Ballord continued to work in Pagoda Anchorage until 1950, when she returned to England.

Barber lived with little traveling and no publicity. Rather, she was content to just remain home and pray. She helped those who sought her counsel in seeking after the Lord, one of whom was Watchman Nee. Furthermore, Barber lived by faith. She was not guaranteed regular funds from the Surrey Chapel Mission Band and had no outward means of support.

One of Barber's well-known characteristics was her anticipation of the second coming of Jesus Christ. This is evident in the many poems she wrote on waiting for Christ's return, some of which were later adapted into hymns. In one account given by Watchman Nee (concerning the eve of 1925):

Lord, will You really let the year 1925 pass away? Although it is the last day of the year, I still ask You to come today.

Barber died in 1930 in Anchorage Pagoda of Crohn's disease. All of her belongings, which included little more than her old Bible with all her notes, were left to Watchman Nee. In the March 1930 issue of Watchman Nee's periodical, ‘’The Present Testimony,’’ Nee made the following remarks concerning Miss Barber’s departure:

We feel most sorrowful concerning the news of the passing away of Miss Barber in Lo- Hsing Pagoda, Fukien. She was one who was very deep in the Lord, and in my opinion, the kind of fellowship she had with the Lord and the kind of faithfulness she expressed to the Lord are rarely found on this earth.”

— Watchman Nee, ’’Watchman Nee: A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age.’’ Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1991:18. Print.